Covenant and Kingdom
Psalm 119:9-16
Beth
9 How can a young person stay on the path of purity?
By living according to your word.
10 I seek you with all my heart;
do not let me stray from your commands.
11 I have hidden your word in my heart
that I might not sin against you.
12 Praise be to you, Lord;
teach me your decrees.
13 With my lips I recount
all the laws that come from your mouth.
14 I rejoice in following your statutes
as one rejoices in great riches.
15 I meditate on your precepts
and consider your ways.
16 I delight in your decrees;
I will not neglect your word.
Reflection: Psalm 119 is an acrostic with each day representing a different letter of the Hebrew alphabet. Yesterday was Aleph, and today is Beth. It was a way of helping the Jewish people remember God and all His benefits. It was a teaching method that is still used today. It is a reminder that when we are memorizing God’s Word and hiding it in our hearts, we can work with our minds and body to make sure we can retain God’s Truth. If we memorize things for earthly benefits on things like tests, how much more would it make sense to memorize the Words of Life and Truth. Today’s psalm reminds us that to keep our path straight, we need to hide God’s word in our hearts and live according to it. We see the relationship between God’s word our hearts and obedience. God produces obedience in us as we hear God’s word and are careful to do what it says. This is the path that leads to abundant life each and every day!
2 Samuel 7
God’s Promise to David
7 After the king was settled in his palace and the Lord had given him rest from all his enemies around him, 2 he said to Nathan the prophet, “Here I am, living in a house of cedar, while the ark of God remains in a tent.”
3 Nathan replied to the king, “Whatever you have in mind, go ahead and do it, for the Lord is with you.”
4 But that night the word of the Lord came to Nathan, saying:
5 “Go and tell my servant David, ‘This is what the Lord says: Are you the one to build me a house to dwell in? 6 I have not dwelt in a house from the day I brought the Israelites up out of Egypt to this day. I have been moving from place to place with a tent as my dwelling. 7 Wherever I have moved with all the Israelites, did I ever say to any of their rulers whom I commanded to shepherd my people Israel, “Why have you not built me a house of cedar?”’
8 “Now then, tell my servant David, ‘This is what the Lord Almighty says: I took you from the pasture, from tending the flock, and appointed you ruler over my people Israel. 9 I have been with you wherever you have gone, and I have cut off all your enemies from before you. Now I will make your name great, like the names of the greatest men on earth. 10 And I will provide a place for my people Israel and will plant them so that they can have a home of their own and no longer be disturbed. Wicked people will not oppress them anymore, as they did at the beginning 11 and have done ever since the time I appointed leaders[a] over my people Israel. I will also give you rest from all your enemies.
“‘The Lord declares to you that the Lord himself will establish a house for you: 12 When your days are over and you rest with your ancestors, I will raise up your offspring to succeed you, your own flesh and blood, and I will establish his kingdom. 13 He is the one who will build a house for my Name, and I will establish the throne of his kingdom forever. 14 I will be his father, and he will be my son. When he does wrong, I will punish him with a rod wielded by men, with floggings inflicted by human hands. 15 But my love will never be taken away from him, as I took it away from Saul, whom I removed from before you. 16 Your house and your kingdom will endure forever before me[b]; your throne will be established forever.’”
17 Nathan reported to David all the words of this entire revelation.
David’s Prayer
18 Then King David went in and sat before the Lord, and he said:
“Who am I, Sovereign Lord, and what is my family, that you have brought me this far? 19 And as if this were not enough in your sight, Sovereign Lord, you have also spoken about the future of the house of your servant—and this decree, Sovereign Lord, is for a mere human![c]
20 “What more can David say to you? For you know your servant, Sovereign Lord. 21 For the sake of your word and according to your will, you have done this great thing and made it known to your servant.
22 “How great you are, Sovereign Lord! There is no one like you, and there is no God but you, as we have heard with our own ears. 23 And who is like your people Israel—the one nation on earth that God went out to redeem as a people for himself, and to make a name for himself, and to perform great and awesome wonders by driving out nations and their gods from before your people, whom you redeemed from Egypt?[d] 24 You have established your people Israel as your very own forever, and you, Lord, have become their God.
25 “And now, Lord God, keep forever the promise you have made concerning your servant and his house. Do as you promised, 26 so that your name will be great forever. Then people will say, ‘The Lord Almighty is God over Israel!’ And the house of your servant David will be established in your sight.
27 “Lord Almighty, God of Israel, you have revealed this to your servant, saying, ‘I will build a house for you.’ So your servant has found courage to pray this prayer to you. 28 Sovereign Lord, you are God! Your covenant is trustworthy, and you have promised these good things to your servant. 29 Now be pleased to bless the house of your servant, that it may continue forever in your sight; for you, Sovereign Lord, have spoken, and with your blessing the house of your servant will be blessed forever.”
Reflection: Today we see the amazing promise the Lord makes with King David to be in royal covenant with Him. David will be an ambassador of God’s kingdom, as King over Israel, and the kingdom will flow through his lineage and importantly it says, “Forever”. Though God punished Saul by taking the kingdom away from him and passing it on to David, God promises that David’s family will forever be in the line of the kingdom forever. We call this the “Davidic Covenant”.
It is the 3rd major covenant God has made with His people the first two being: the Noachic Covenant (never destroy the earth through a flood again) and the Abrahamic Covenant (that all nations would be blessed through Abraham’s family). These covenants are all foreshadowing the New Covenant God will make through His Son Jesus, the Holy Priest and the King of all Kings. This is why it is so important to understand the nature of Covenant and Kingdom. Covenant is God choosing to be in relationship with us and to inherit all that is His. And Kingdom is the sense in which God’s purposes for all of Creation flow through us as His Kingdom ambassadors. You will see these two themes of “Covenant and Kingdom” throughout the bible and they are a good way to interpret all that happens from Genesis to Revelation (when God’s kingdom comes on earth as it is in heaven – the Lord’s Prayer!)
John 7:25-44
Division Over Who Jesus Is
25 At that point some of the people of Jerusalem began to ask, “Isn’t this the man they are trying to kill? 26 Here he is, speaking publicly, and they are not saying a word to him. Have the authorities really concluded that he is the Messiah? 27 But we know where this man is from; when the Messiah comes, no one will know where he is from.”
28 Then Jesus, still teaching in the temple courts, cried out, “Yes, you know me, and you know where I am from. I am not here on my own authority, but he who sent me is true. You do not know him, 29 but I know him because I am from him and he sent me.”
30 At this they tried to seize him, but no one laid a hand on him, because his hour had not yet come. 31 Still, many in the crowd believed in him. They said, “When the Messiah comes, will he perform more signs than this man?”
32 The Pharisees heard the crowd whispering such things about him. Then the chief priests and the Pharisees sent temple guards to arrest him.
33 Jesus said, “I am with you for only a short time, and then I am going to the one who sent me. 34 You will look for me, but you will not find me; and where I am, you cannot come.”
35 The Jews said to one another, “Where does this man intend to go that we cannot find him? Will he go where our people live scattered among the Greeks, and teach the Greeks? 36 What did he mean when he said, ‘You will look for me, but you will not find me,’ and ‘Where I am, you cannot come’?”
37 On the last and greatest day of the festival, Jesus stood and said in a loud voice, “Let anyone who is thirsty come to me and drink. 38 Whoever believes in me, as Scripture has said, rivers of living water will flow from within them.” 39 By this he meant the Spirit, whom those who believed in him were later to receive. Up to that time the Spirit had not been given, since Jesus had not yet been glorified.
40 On hearing his words, some of the people said, “Surely this man is the Prophet.”
41 Others said, “He is the Messiah.”
Still others asked, “How can the Messiah come from Galilee? 42 Does not Scripture say that the Messiah will come from David’s descendants and from Bethlehem, the town where David lived?” 43 Thus the people were divided because of Jesus. 44 Some wanted to seize him, but no one laid a hand on him.
Reflection: As Jesus continues to reveal His true identity the people start trying to piece together who is and where He comes from. Of course we know that He came from God and was with God and yet He also fulfilled the prophecies about him from the Old Testament. Of course we remember that Jesus was born in Bethlehem and then had to flee because of King Herod’s reign of terror. He fulfills that the prophecy then that He would come out of Nazareth the town in Bethlehem where he and his family fled. Since He came from the line of David, they were expecting a military conqueror like mighty King David and therefore they were looking for more impressive signs, but Jesus was going to fulfill the greatest sign by going to a lonely cross on hill forsaken by all and even by His Father. This will be the ultimate sign that He is the Lamb of God who takes away the sins of the world.
I am with you to save you and deliver you, says the Lord. Jeremiah 15:20
Where two or three are gathered in my name, I am there among them. Matthew 18:20
God, you bring us deliverance and you give us awareness of your presence. Where there are only two gathered in your name, you promise to be there among us. We pray either in solitude or in the company of others, remind us of those who pray in your name at that moment in time. Amen.
Beth
9 How can a young person stay on the path of purity?
By living according to your word.
10 I seek you with all my heart;
do not let me stray from your commands.
11 I have hidden your word in my heart
that I might not sin against you.
12 Praise be to you, Lord;
teach me your decrees.
13 With my lips I recount
all the laws that come from your mouth.
14 I rejoice in following your statutes
as one rejoices in great riches.
15 I meditate on your precepts
and consider your ways.
16 I delight in your decrees;
I will not neglect your word.
Reflection: Psalm 119 is an acrostic with each day representing a different letter of the Hebrew alphabet. Yesterday was Aleph, and today is Beth. It was a way of helping the Jewish people remember God and all His benefits. It was a teaching method that is still used today. It is a reminder that when we are memorizing God’s Word and hiding it in our hearts, we can work with our minds and body to make sure we can retain God’s Truth. If we memorize things for earthly benefits on things like tests, how much more would it make sense to memorize the Words of Life and Truth. Today’s psalm reminds us that to keep our path straight, we need to hide God’s word in our hearts and live according to it. We see the relationship between God’s word our hearts and obedience. God produces obedience in us as we hear God’s word and are careful to do what it says. This is the path that leads to abundant life each and every day!
2 Samuel 7
God’s Promise to David
7 After the king was settled in his palace and the Lord had given him rest from all his enemies around him, 2 he said to Nathan the prophet, “Here I am, living in a house of cedar, while the ark of God remains in a tent.”
3 Nathan replied to the king, “Whatever you have in mind, go ahead and do it, for the Lord is with you.”
4 But that night the word of the Lord came to Nathan, saying:
5 “Go and tell my servant David, ‘This is what the Lord says: Are you the one to build me a house to dwell in? 6 I have not dwelt in a house from the day I brought the Israelites up out of Egypt to this day. I have been moving from place to place with a tent as my dwelling. 7 Wherever I have moved with all the Israelites, did I ever say to any of their rulers whom I commanded to shepherd my people Israel, “Why have you not built me a house of cedar?”’
8 “Now then, tell my servant David, ‘This is what the Lord Almighty says: I took you from the pasture, from tending the flock, and appointed you ruler over my people Israel. 9 I have been with you wherever you have gone, and I have cut off all your enemies from before you. Now I will make your name great, like the names of the greatest men on earth. 10 And I will provide a place for my people Israel and will plant them so that they can have a home of their own and no longer be disturbed. Wicked people will not oppress them anymore, as they did at the beginning 11 and have done ever since the time I appointed leaders[a] over my people Israel. I will also give you rest from all your enemies.
“‘The Lord declares to you that the Lord himself will establish a house for you: 12 When your days are over and you rest with your ancestors, I will raise up your offspring to succeed you, your own flesh and blood, and I will establish his kingdom. 13 He is the one who will build a house for my Name, and I will establish the throne of his kingdom forever. 14 I will be his father, and he will be my son. When he does wrong, I will punish him with a rod wielded by men, with floggings inflicted by human hands. 15 But my love will never be taken away from him, as I took it away from Saul, whom I removed from before you. 16 Your house and your kingdom will endure forever before me[b]; your throne will be established forever.’”
17 Nathan reported to David all the words of this entire revelation.
David’s Prayer
18 Then King David went in and sat before the Lord, and he said:
“Who am I, Sovereign Lord, and what is my family, that you have brought me this far? 19 And as if this were not enough in your sight, Sovereign Lord, you have also spoken about the future of the house of your servant—and this decree, Sovereign Lord, is for a mere human![c]
20 “What more can David say to you? For you know your servant, Sovereign Lord. 21 For the sake of your word and according to your will, you have done this great thing and made it known to your servant.
22 “How great you are, Sovereign Lord! There is no one like you, and there is no God but you, as we have heard with our own ears. 23 And who is like your people Israel—the one nation on earth that God went out to redeem as a people for himself, and to make a name for himself, and to perform great and awesome wonders by driving out nations and their gods from before your people, whom you redeemed from Egypt?[d] 24 You have established your people Israel as your very own forever, and you, Lord, have become their God.
25 “And now, Lord God, keep forever the promise you have made concerning your servant and his house. Do as you promised, 26 so that your name will be great forever. Then people will say, ‘The Lord Almighty is God over Israel!’ And the house of your servant David will be established in your sight.
27 “Lord Almighty, God of Israel, you have revealed this to your servant, saying, ‘I will build a house for you.’ So your servant has found courage to pray this prayer to you. 28 Sovereign Lord, you are God! Your covenant is trustworthy, and you have promised these good things to your servant. 29 Now be pleased to bless the house of your servant, that it may continue forever in your sight; for you, Sovereign Lord, have spoken, and with your blessing the house of your servant will be blessed forever.”
Reflection: Today we see the amazing promise the Lord makes with King David to be in royal covenant with Him. David will be an ambassador of God’s kingdom, as King over Israel, and the kingdom will flow through his lineage and importantly it says, “Forever”. Though God punished Saul by taking the kingdom away from him and passing it on to David, God promises that David’s family will forever be in the line of the kingdom forever. We call this the “Davidic Covenant”.
It is the 3rd major covenant God has made with His people the first two being: the Noachic Covenant (never destroy the earth through a flood again) and the Abrahamic Covenant (that all nations would be blessed through Abraham’s family). These covenants are all foreshadowing the New Covenant God will make through His Son Jesus, the Holy Priest and the King of all Kings. This is why it is so important to understand the nature of Covenant and Kingdom. Covenant is God choosing to be in relationship with us and to inherit all that is His. And Kingdom is the sense in which God’s purposes for all of Creation flow through us as His Kingdom ambassadors. You will see these two themes of “Covenant and Kingdom” throughout the bible and they are a good way to interpret all that happens from Genesis to Revelation (when God’s kingdom comes on earth as it is in heaven – the Lord’s Prayer!)
John 7:25-44
Division Over Who Jesus Is
25 At that point some of the people of Jerusalem began to ask, “Isn’t this the man they are trying to kill? 26 Here he is, speaking publicly, and they are not saying a word to him. Have the authorities really concluded that he is the Messiah? 27 But we know where this man is from; when the Messiah comes, no one will know where he is from.”
28 Then Jesus, still teaching in the temple courts, cried out, “Yes, you know me, and you know where I am from. I am not here on my own authority, but he who sent me is true. You do not know him, 29 but I know him because I am from him and he sent me.”
30 At this they tried to seize him, but no one laid a hand on him, because his hour had not yet come. 31 Still, many in the crowd believed in him. They said, “When the Messiah comes, will he perform more signs than this man?”
32 The Pharisees heard the crowd whispering such things about him. Then the chief priests and the Pharisees sent temple guards to arrest him.
33 Jesus said, “I am with you for only a short time, and then I am going to the one who sent me. 34 You will look for me, but you will not find me; and where I am, you cannot come.”
35 The Jews said to one another, “Where does this man intend to go that we cannot find him? Will he go where our people live scattered among the Greeks, and teach the Greeks? 36 What did he mean when he said, ‘You will look for me, but you will not find me,’ and ‘Where I am, you cannot come’?”
37 On the last and greatest day of the festival, Jesus stood and said in a loud voice, “Let anyone who is thirsty come to me and drink. 38 Whoever believes in me, as Scripture has said, rivers of living water will flow from within them.” 39 By this he meant the Spirit, whom those who believed in him were later to receive. Up to that time the Spirit had not been given, since Jesus had not yet been glorified.
40 On hearing his words, some of the people said, “Surely this man is the Prophet.”
41 Others said, “He is the Messiah.”
Still others asked, “How can the Messiah come from Galilee? 42 Does not Scripture say that the Messiah will come from David’s descendants and from Bethlehem, the town where David lived?” 43 Thus the people were divided because of Jesus. 44 Some wanted to seize him, but no one laid a hand on him.
Reflection: As Jesus continues to reveal His true identity the people start trying to piece together who is and where He comes from. Of course we know that He came from God and was with God and yet He also fulfilled the prophecies about him from the Old Testament. Of course we remember that Jesus was born in Bethlehem and then had to flee because of King Herod’s reign of terror. He fulfills that the prophecy then that He would come out of Nazareth the town in Bethlehem where he and his family fled. Since He came from the line of David, they were expecting a military conqueror like mighty King David and therefore they were looking for more impressive signs, but Jesus was going to fulfill the greatest sign by going to a lonely cross on hill forsaken by all and even by His Father. This will be the ultimate sign that He is the Lamb of God who takes away the sins of the world.
I am with you to save you and deliver you, says the Lord. Jeremiah 15:20
Where two or three are gathered in my name, I am there among them. Matthew 18:20
God, you bring us deliverance and you give us awareness of your presence. Where there are only two gathered in your name, you promise to be there among us. We pray either in solitude or in the company of others, remind us of those who pray in your name at that moment in time. Amen.
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